Peter Derksen

Peter Derksen was born on March 29, 1936 in Rabbit Lake Saskatchewan. He was the fourth child of John and Neta (Wiebe) Derksen. The family was involved in mixed farming. He attended a one room school in Bournemouth, Saskatchewan with his siblings.

In 1945 they moved to BC and settled on Bowman Road in Abbotsford where they set up a dairy farm. There Peter went to Upper Sumas School and MEI. He then attended Bible School at MBBC, (now CBC). Peter enjoyed working on the farm with his dad and planned to have a dairy farm of his own one day. He made the decision to follow Jesus one Sunday afternoon when he and some friends went on their bikes to the home of their Sunday School teacher Nick Dyck, who led them to the Lord. Nick gave him the Bible verse “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37). He was baptized on Sept. 5, 1954 in the baptismal stream in Yarrow and joined the Arnold MB Church, Abbotsford. He enjoyed singing in the choir and quartets, and participating in activities with the large, close knit youth group there.

Peter was employed at various jobs including working for Dan Reimer Construction, building houses. His brother-in-law, Dan, taught him everything he knew about building and this was very helpful later when he had his many building projects on the farm.

In 1960, he married his best friend and neighbour Mary Wiebe and they soon moved to the Derksen farm on Bowman Rd, where Peter worked for his dad. Children John, Ivy, and Barbara were born there. After four years Peter was eager to start his own dairy farm and so in 1964, he moved his family to Lickman Road, Chilliwack. Steven was born there in 1971 to round out the family of two boys and two girls.

Peter and his family found a friendly church home in Greendale MB Church where he enjoyed fellowship for over fifty-five years. He was privileged to serve in various areas, including singing in the choir, working on the building committee, and serving as assistant treasurer for many years.

Peter was patient and good about going shopping with the family. He would hurry through the farm chores and then he would take us to the Army and Navy store in Vancouver, Guildford shopping center in Surrey, or wherever we wanted to go. He made sure we all got what we needed, and we hurried home to do our chores again.

On the farm he always had building projects. The highlight was building the milking parlor in 1974, then the barn and other buildings had to be enlarged, and so on. Another big step was the computer feeder in 1983. Peter was progressive, always looking forward to improving farming methods wherever he could. The whole family worked together and developed a good work ethic. In 1992 Steven and Gail became partners with Dad & Mom working together on Derksen Dairy until they took over in 2008.

Peter watched with great pleasure as his children grew up and became independent, responsible citizens, raising families of their own. John married Cheryl Summers from California, Ivy married David Riediger from Chilliwack, Barbara married Brian Thiessen from Calgary, and Steven married Gail Peters from Prince George.

Peter wanted a power boat for a long time. In 1985 there was a boat for him. He was very happy pulling water skiers.

As his children’s families grew, Peter enjoyed watching his grandchildren whenever he could as they participated in baseball, hockey, dancing, motorcycle racing, drumline, piano recitals, etc.

In retirement he enjoyed travelling to warm sunny places with Mary, friends, and relatives. They went to tourist hot spots like Israel, Australia, and Europe.

In 2014 Peter was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia with Parkinson’s Disease. He and Mary continued living in their new home on Lickman Rd until 2015, when Dad decided it was time to downsize and he and Mary moved to the Evergreens at Ensley. Mom cared for Dad at home until January of 2019 when the family made the difficult decision to move him to Valleyhaven Retirement Home, where he lived until he went peacefully to meet his Savior on Sunday, August 8, 2021.

Peter was predeceased by his parents, his infant sister, Wilma, his brother, John, and his stillborn granddaughters, Erin Derksen and Chantel Derksen.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary, son John and Cheryl Derksen, and their children Ashley, Jordan, and Zackary. Daughter Ivy and Dave Riediger, their children Matt and Nicole, Jon and Stephanie, Jelisa and Erick Penner, Derek and Brooklyn. Daughter Barbara and Brian Thiessen and their children Rob, Dan and Katie, Amanda, and Josiah. Son Steven and Gail Derksen, their children Logan and Rhys. As well as 8 great-grandchildren, Chloe, Alyssa, Emery, Ethan, Eli, James, Ezra and Myla. Also surviving him are sisters, Freda (Dan) Reimer, Agnes Fast, Lena (John) Thielmann, and Linda (Ron) Penner, and sister-in-law Betty Raymond.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawn-mtcheam.ca for the Derksen family.